A lubricant dispenser having the characteristics described is known from DE 10 2005 035 4521. The gas generator, the electronic controller, and a battery for the power supply are integrated into the lubricant cartridge and contained in a sealed housing. The lubricant cartridge is a disposable article and is disposed of, as a whole, including the electronic components, once the lubricant supply chamber has been emptied. Such a practice is unsatisfactory both from environmental aspects and from the point of view of costs. It is furthermore disadvantageous that the battery can be partly discharged after extended storage of the lubricant dispenser, even before the lubricant dispenser is put into operation, because the electronic control device is already supplied with current by the battery even in the passive state. Sometimes, it is not possible to ensure that the lubricant dispenser will still function properly over an extended period of time for dispensing as the result of partial discharge caused by storage.
The electronic control of lubricant dispensers that have an electrochemical gas drive is becoming increasingly more complex. From EP 0 806 603 [U.S. Pat. No. 5,578,802], an electronic controller for lubricant dispensers having an electrochemical drive is known having a microcomputer, an LCD display, and a selection switch for setting the dispensing period. For environmental and cost reasons, it is practical for such a controller to be reused. In this connection, care must be taken to ensure that handling of a lubricant dispenser having an interchangeable electronic control is easy, and that when a new lubricant cartridge is used, the power supply is guaranteed over a long dispensing time, which can amount to many months.